Tired And Confused

[Dzed]

Ive just lost over 200lbs,but ive got a big problem.Im terrified of gaining ANY weight back,thus despite being 10lbs underweight im still eating under 1000cals a day with little or no fat and under 30gs of carbs.Im still losing,and i feel ill,with cinstant dizzy spells and palpatations.Considering im 6'5 and active im eating very little and starving constantly and my body feels as if it has just hit a brick wall all the time.People say i look ill and far too thin,but im just scared to eat.I dont know if im slipping into anorexia.Im just so miserable,hungry,depressed and worried about putting weight on.

[Kristine]

Hi Dzed :wave: :bhug: I hope you're still here - this Maintenance group is a little quiet. Sorry I didn't notice you. :)

It's good that you're concerned about this now. You'll want to see your doctor ASAP - dizziness and heart palpitations can be very serious.

Your concerns about anorexia are right on the nose - that is an exact description of the mindset. You know you're underweight, you know you're not eating nearly enough, and you know you feel like crap, yet you're stopped in your tracks by the fear.

Are you a guy? No offense intended; I only assume because I have yet to meet a 6'5" girl. :) Do you have a good doctor you trust? You might want to get some info at a local eating disorder group.

Here are a couple of links if you feel like doing some surfing:

http://www.something-fishy.org/cultural/issuesformen.php
http://www-users.aston.ac.uk/~pieronim/links_page.htm

Best of luck to you - let us know how you're doing, 'k? Trust me: you want to nip this in the bud *now*, because it only gets worse. :(

Take care...

[tofi]

Hello Dzed. I certainly agree with everything Kristine said.

You are so wise to be able to recognize this trend in your thinking. Please act on your own awareness and see your doctor - or even go to an ER and ask to talk to someone. With the symptoms you describe, this IS an emergency. If you call your local hospital, ask if there's an Eating Disorders Clinic.

Do you have friends or family around - those people who are telling you about their concern for your appearance? Ask them to help you look for help. I am so glad you can hear what they are saying and want to act on it.

By the way, my husband is 6'8" and the doctor doesn't want him to weigh less than 240. So even your 210 is rather low as a goal.

You have done magnificently in losing the excess weight but now, preserve your health so you will live many years to enjoy your accomplishment.

Please let us know how things go for you. Warmest wishes. :wave:

[annieo]

Dittos to the above.

From the little I know about these things, I'll contribute the following observation:

I know a few people that have battled anorexia. Especially for someone that has successfully lost a lot of weight (and got positive feedback from the world!), the line between normal and skinny becomes very blurred. It certainly is good that you recognize this as a potential problem, but it isn't enough. Every person that I know that has battled anorexia has reported to me that they DID recognize it as a problem at one point, but that the recognition faded away as they slipped farther into the disease.

What does that mean? Basically, it means that if you recognize it as a problem, that does not mean that you've "beat it." The longer you wait to actually DO SOMETHING (i.e., go to a doctor or specialist that you trust and get help), the less likely it is that you will be able to do so at all.

People very rarely go to bed healthy one day and wake up anorexic. It is a long road, and along the road there are plenty of signs. Just because you read the signs, it doesn't mean that you aren't still cruising down that road. Eventually, if you get going too fast you'll miss the signs. At the risk of sounding preachy, I'd have to say that you should address this problem the same way you would a lump in your breast or chest pain.

Good luck, and be sure to let us know how it goes.

Annie

[jaykay]

Hey Dzed, I know what you're talking about - its like we get scared of carbs. My DH reached his goal weight and like you was scared to eat any more carbs, so kept losing.

Then I asked what else he could eat, on this forum (in the general low carb section), and was given a link to sites which give you the glycemic index of foods. Low glycemic index, low effect on insulin and therefore no weight gain.

What he's decided to do is to take foods with low glycemic indices, add one or two for a few weeks and see what happens. Keep on adding stuff like this til he isn't losing weight anymore.
If he gets brave, he says he'll keep adding them until he gains a couple of pounds and then back off a bit.

It is hard, swapping from 'losing' mentality to 'rest of your life' mentality - like it was hard to start this.
You can do it , you've done the really hard stuff. We get odd relationships with food, you'll come to trust it again as you see that it makes you well and not fat again.

Hope you've found some help and that you're feeling better, take care, Jay :wave: